La Mariposa: The BeginningThe vision of La Mariposa began with one woman's motivation to help pay off the debt that the "affluent world" in reality owes the "developing world". Due to the inherent inequalities that exist within the structure of the global market, many people live in environmentally and economically degraded communities. Paulette Goudge, after having worked in the UK as a social worker for over 20 years, decided to sell her house and use her life pension in order to help the impoverished community of San Juan de La Concepcion in Nicaragua become a more stable and sustainable town. About 25 years ago Paulette first came to Nicaragua, where she witnessed the "Counter-Revolution" between the Daniel Ortega-backed Sandinistas and the United States C. I. A. supported Contras. During this time she initiated relationships with local community members while learning Spanish, and also adopted her now 25 year old daughter, Guillermina. Upon returning to Nicaragua about 5 years ago, she and critical members within the community of San Juan de La Concepcion began building this eco-hotel based upon the integration of Spanish and cultural learning classes with spreading environmental awareness to both the community as well as travelers passing through. This extremely inspirational lady puts all of the income the eco-hotel receives towards supporting the local people and economy by providing resources and community projects. These include the development of organic farms, the construction of a retaining wall, latrines, a small library at the Panama primary school, after school programs, reforestation projects, youth sports projects, wildlife and animal rescue, and other local employment opportunities. La Mariposa is a great example of how the integration of both critical environmental and social factors truly embody what it means to be sustainable.
Solar Energy
Organic Farms
Soil
Animals
The chatter of toucans, parrots, parakeets, cicadas, frogs, monkeys and dogs are only a fraction of the variety of wildlife sounds you may hear as you arrive at La Mariposa. The number and variety of the animals not only creates an emotionally and synthetically pleasing ambiance of tropical life very present at La Mariposa but also plays an important role in the practice of sustainability for the eco-hotel. For example, the animals eat much of the food waste that can not be incorporated into the worm compost. Rice husk is used for the chickens because it produces a warm bedding for the birds to scratch, feed, and defecate in. Their feces are used as fertilizer and they are often released in the garden to eat many of the bugs, specifically the extremely destructive leaf cutter ants that are harmful to the plants and flowers. The chickens also produce eggs that are used in many meals served at the eco-hotel. The horses, cattle and oxen on the various organic farms offsite are used for transportation as well as milk and cheese production. La Mariposa also provides wildlife habitat in other ways, including the planting and preservation of a variety of flora for hummingbirds and butterflies. As mentioned earlier, the growth of natural large trees on the property attracts many bird species and provides a sanctuary for them in the midst of intense deforestation currently taking place in and around the country. These efforts to reestablish the natural vegetation have also created a habitat for iguanas, lizards, boas, squirrels, agoutis, and coatis. A frog pond on the grounds provides an ecosystem for some aquatic life, and since frogs eat insects, this also helps keep the mosquito population at a minimum. La Mariposa also rescues, rehabilitates, and then releases animals back into the wild when possible. The eco-hotel is currently home to four monkeys, seven dogs and five cats, all of which were taken in and nourished back to health. This too highlights the essence of sustainability as a holistic approach that incorporates social with environmental practices.
Amazingly most, if not all, of the energy used at La Mariposa is off the grid system!! The eco-hotel has 9 solar panels on the roof that uses the energy from the sun's rays to supply power to the building's refrigerator, internet, televisions, lights, and fans. The 9 panels consist of photovoltaic (PV) cells that convert sunlight into an electric current. These photovoltaic cells have both a positive and negative slice of silicon (a semiconductor material) placed under a thin slice of glass, which form an electrical field created by the interaction of atoms from both sides. As photons of sunlight hit these panels, the electrons get "knocked off" causing a movement of electrons from one slice of silicon to another. However, this movement is one-way, from the positive layer to the negative layer, and so electrons become trapped in the negative layer. A small circuit of wires on the silicon catches these negative electrons, uses them to power the electrical appliances within the building, and then leads back to the positive layer of silicon, which completes the electric current and continues the cycle. The type of current produced is called direct current (D.C.) and before it may be used to power the eco-hotel, it is converted to alternating current (A.C.) by an electronic inverter. The solar panels are connected to batteries which store D.C. energy, convert it into A.C. through an inverter, and then distribute it throughout the building. Batteries like these are essential when sunlight is not available. Solar power is one of many alternative forms of energy that exist in our world day. Others include wind, hydro-electric, and geothermal, that also make a huge impact in the reduction of fossil fuel use and are key components of the current shifting vision of future energy use. Solar power at La Mariposa is just one illustration of the many environmentally sustainable practices exhibited at the site.
Organic FarmsLa Mariposa has 3 producing and thriving organic farms. One is on site behind the eco-hotel, another in the municipality of La Concha, and the last is located in the nearby neighborhood of Santiago. All together, they produce most of the food prepared and served at the eco-hotel. This includes tomatoes, peppers, arugula, broccoli, squash, zucchini, pumpkin, melon, lettuce, citris plants, coffee, green beans, bananas, and more. The organic farm on the grounds at La Mariposa exemplifies the importance and benefits of natural symbioses between different types of vegetation and forms of wildlife. For example, the coffee plants are grown among fruit trees and local trees of the area like the Madero, Saba, Acheyote and Guanacaste trees. This assimilation of various plants and trees avoids the spread of disease and allows for a rich and diverse system of wildlife. These trees also offer shade to the coffee trees, attract many different bird species which contribute to the community by eating harmful insects that damage the plants, and branch and leaf litter that falls to the ground becomes decaying matter that helps retain moisture and restore soil nutrients. The interactive relationship between the eco-hotel and the farm demonstrates the very practical and mutual benefits obtained through sustainable practices. The pruning of coffee plants and other bigger trees offers firewood and construction materials to the eco-hotel and the used shower water provides water to the plants on the farm. By growing most of their own food, the eco-hotel supports the local economy and needs not depend on any international food companies that end up forcing smaller farmers out of the market who cannot compete against their low prices. This total organic process at La Mariposa allows workers and guests to enjoy natural delicious foods without the dangerous chemicals often applied to crops on commercial farms operated by global food companies.
Soil
The soil on the organic farms are made from a number of process that incorporate critical nutrients and create an ideal growing environment for the plants. La Mariposa makes use of all of their food scraps by either feeding them to the animals that live at the Eco-hotel or by integrating them into the worm compost for decomposition and soil production. La Mariposa buys fertilizer in large quantities from various local and organic soil providers which they use in combination with their own soil. Because of the volcanic geography of San Juan de La Concepcion, the soil is is extremely fertile and rich in phosphorus and nitrogen. The worm compost bins serve to break down organic waste and turn it into very nutrient- and vitamin-abundant soil. There is also a high concentration of bacteria, ranging from millions to billions of different types in a single handful, that are extremely beneficial for the plants. Parts of banana trunks that have been chopped up are layered on top of the worm compost to keep the soil moist and to add additional nutrients. This compost is then mixed with water and distributed over the plants as well as integrated into the soil. The fertilizer, volcanic soil, and compost/water mix is thus used in the cultivation of new plants and offers an extremely advantageous and healthy environment for them to grow. Many of these practices exhibited at La Mariposa were put in place and are maintained by the extremely experienced and knowledgeable gardeners and farmers that are employed from the community.
Animals
The chatter of toucans, parrots, parakeets, cicadas, frogs, monkeys and dogs are only a fraction of the variety of wildlife sounds you may hear as you arrive at La Mariposa. The number and variety of the animals not only creates an emotionally and synthetically pleasing ambiance of tropical life very present at La Mariposa but also plays an important role in the practice of sustainability for the eco-hotel. For example, the animals eat much of the food waste that can not be incorporated into the worm compost. Rice husk is used for the chickens because it produces a warm bedding for the birds to scratch, feed, and defecate in. Their feces are used as fertilizer and they are often released in the garden to eat many of the bugs, specifically the extremely destructive leaf cutter ants that are harmful to the plants and flowers. The chickens also produce eggs that are used in many meals served at the eco-hotel. The horses, cattle and oxen on the various organic farms offsite are used for transportation as well as milk and cheese production. La Mariposa also provides wildlife habitat in other ways, including the planting and preservation of a variety of flora for hummingbirds and butterflies. As mentioned earlier, the growth of natural large trees on the property attracts many bird species and provides a sanctuary for them in the midst of intense deforestation currently taking place in and around the country. These efforts to reestablish the natural vegetation have also created a habitat for iguanas, lizards, boas, squirrels, agoutis, and coatis. A frog pond on the grounds provides an ecosystem for some aquatic life, and since frogs eat insects, this also helps keep the mosquito population at a minimum. La Mariposa also rescues, rehabilitates, and then releases animals back into the wild when possible. The eco-hotel is currently home to four monkeys, seven dogs and five cats, all of which were taken in and nourished back to health. This too highlights the essence of sustainability as a holistic approach that incorporates social with environmental practices.
Author: Erica Wheeler-Dubin
